Deforestation:11 facts you need to know

One South Carolina, every yearAccording to satellite data, tropical forests are being destroyed at a rate of about 8 million hectares (31,000 square miles) a year — an area equivalent in size to the state of South Carolina or the Czech Republic.

Fourteen Manhattans, every dayDespite their immense value, since the 1960s, nearly half of the world’s rainforests have been lost. Every day, about 81,000 hectares (200,000 acres) of rainforest — an area nearly 14 times the size of Manhattan — are burned around the world.​

Brazil under siegeIn 2015, nearly 6,000 square kilometers (3,600 square miles) of forests — the size of Cyprus or the state of Maine —
were lost in 2015 in the Brazilian Amazon alone​, cut or burned to build ranches, croplands and roads.

US$ 200 billion marketForest products account for about 1 percent of the world’s gross domestic product, and the total global market for commercial wood products — including logs, lumber, panels, pulp and paper — is more than US$ 200 billion per year.​

11% of emissionsWhen forests are cleared, they emit carbon dioxide. Eleven percent of global greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans can be blamed on deforestation — equivalent to the emissions from all the cars and trucks on Earth.

CI’s solutions

The value of the services that forests provide is immense, yet it remains largely invisible. When this value is invisible, forests lose: They cannot compete against the short-term windfall of timber or newly cleared land for agriculture.​

Conservation International works to show that forests are worth more standing than cut down. By identifying the full values of forests, we can create powerful incentives to ensure that they remain standing and can continue to support us.

Column Items

Column Item

EditItem Text:Conservation International is working to achieve zero net deforestation in Amazonia by 2020 to protect essential resources such as freshwater and carbon storage; help vulnerable communities adapt to the impacts of climate change; and increase prosperity for local people.

Column Item

EditItem Text:“Natural capital” is the source of the benefits that nature provides, such as fresh water, flood control and forest products (including cancer-treating drugs and other medicines). Determining the location of essential natural capital is the first step in helping a country account for the full value of nature and incorporate that into its sustainable development plans.

Column Item

EditItem Text:Natural capital supports human and financial capital: When climate change threatens nature, societies and economies are threatened, too. Conservation International is helping businesses quantify their impacts and reliance on natural capital to ensure can continue to provide into the future.

Column Item

EditItem Text:CI works with San Martín’s indigenous peoples, exchanging traditional and science-based knowledge to help develop sustainable forestry practices. Our initiatives are designed to enhance the benefits nature provides that are essential to sustain agriculture, tourism, energy and other economic activities.